Utility pole mounted solar panels and securing brackets

ABSTRACT

An electrical transmission system has solar electrical generation stations mounted directly to existing utility poles along a transmission line. Solar panels and securing brackets define each solar electric generation station. Each station has at least one generally East facing panel, at least one generally South facing panel, and at least one generally West facing panel. A power coupling conducts electricity generated by the solar electric generation station into the transmission lines. In one embodiment, a plurality of spacer members support the separate and distinct solar collector surfaces in a fixed position relative to the utility pole and have a plurality of clamp passages. A plurality of clamps pass through the clamp passages to guide and retain the clamps. In another embodiment, a plurality of adjustable brackets affix with the spacer members adjacent a first end and to the utility pole adjacent a second end distal to the first end.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention pertains generally to electrical transmission orinterconnection systems, and more particularly to such systems havingplural supply circuits or sources distributed along a load circuit. In amost preferred manifestation, the present invention provides solarpanels and securing brackets that may, for exemplary purposes, bemounted directly to utility poles including but not limited to powerline supporting poles and light poles.

2. Description of the Related Art

Conventional electrical power generation is achieved using extremelylarge generating facilities that might burn coal or oil, or throughnuclear reaction produce heat. The heat is then used to convert water tosteam, and the steam used to spin a turbine. Next, the electricity istransmitted over great distance from this large central plant to the enduser. In the transmission and distribution of electrical energy, thereare many utility poles that are anchored into the earth, and power linesstrung overhead between adjacent utility poles. In view of the essentialnature that electricity plays in the modern world, these utility polesare afforded right-of-way to allow the utility companies to access andmaintain the lines.

The efficiency of modern photovoltaic cells is very high, and the costis quite low. Furthermore, the electricity may be generated at or closeto the point of consumption, which may provide lower losses and greaterdistribution capacity. Consequently, much opportunity exists to generatea substantial portion of electricity required for everyday use throughthe generation of electricity using sunlight, referred to in technicalcircles as solar insolation. Unfortunately, there has always been adivide between the capability to produce power from sunlight and thedesire to actually install a system.

There have been several barriers to the adoption of photovoltaicsystems. One barrier is the cost of installation. Not only do the solarcells need to be purchased, but they must also be installed in a mannerthat allows them to withstand the vagaries of the environment. Typicallythis includes wind and ice loading. Even when properly designed, thesolar panels may become detached in an exceptional wind storm orhurricane, perpetrating damage to the building. Furthermore, when thesolar cells are mounted to an existing building, the very act ofinstallation can and often does harm the building. For example, aroof-mounted system will have fasteners that penetrate the roof of thestructure. Over time, these “holes” in the roof may develop leaks thatcause far more damage than the system will return in power savings.Consequently, the installation systems are necessarily expensive, andrequire expertise that in turn translates into high labor costs.

Yet another barrier has been the adverse alteration to the aestheticappearance of a building. The panels are very difficult to incorporateinto the appearance of a building, often detracting therefrom. Ahomeowner or commercial property owner will often forego theinstallation purely due to aesthetic factors.

However, the utility pole may also be used to support solar cell arrays.In this case, the photovoltaic array does not detract from theappearance of the pole and transmission line, and the utility pole isalready securely anchored into the earth. U.S. Pat. No. 8,466,581 byKuran, also published as 2010/0327657 and entitled “System and methodfor utility pole distributed solar power generation,” the teachings andcontents which are incorporated herein by reference, shows multiplepoles with the one or more PV cells mounted on them, and provides anextensive discussion of the interface between the solar panels and thegrid. Unfortunately, the Kuran construction is very exposed, leaving thesystem vulnerable to wind and ice loading. Furthermore, the panels areoriented for peak power production at or around midday, and so will onlyproduce power for a few hours each day.

In U.S. Pat. No. 8,097,980 by Cyrus et al, entitled “Distributed solarpower plant and a method of its connection to the existing power grid,”the teachings and contents which are incorporated herein by reference,another PV system using utility poles is illustrated This patent failsto describe how the panels are mounted.

Several additional US patents and published applications illustratesolar cells coupled with poles, the teachings and contents which areincorporated herein by reference, including 2013/0322063 by Tittle,entitled “Solar retrofit lighting system”; U.S. Pat. No. 8,029,154 byMyer, entitled “Solar-powered light pole and LED light fixture”; andU.S. Pat. No. 6,060,658 by Yoshida et al, entitled “Pole having solarcells”.

Other US patents and published applications, the teachings and contentswhich are incorporated herein by reference, illustrate PV panels used topower a light on the pole or other somewhat less relevant concepts, butthat nevertheless represent the state of the industry and provide arepresentation of the level of skill in the field: U.S. Pat. No.4,200,904 by Doan, entitled “Solar powered street lighting system”; U.S.Pat. No. 4,281,369 by Batte, entitled “Method and apparatus for solarpower lighting”; U.S. Pat. No. 4,319,310 by Kingsley, entitled “Solarsigns”; U.S. Pat. No. 5,149,188 by Robbins, entitled “Solar poweredexterior lighting system”; U.S. Pat. No. 5,155,668 by Tanner et al,entitled “Solar powered lamp utilizing cold cathode fluorescentillumination and method of facilitating same”; U.S. Pat. No. 7,976,180by Haun et al, entitled “Solar powered rechargeable street light withtamper resistant networkable system”; U.S. Pat. No. 7,980,725 by Yu etal, entitled “Solar energy street lamp structure with air passageway”;U.S. Pat. No. 7,988,320 by Brumels, entitled “Lighting device havingadjustable solar panel bracket”; U.S. Pat. No. 7,997,754 by Zhang et al,entitled “Solar component and devices containing the same”; U.S. Pat.No. 8,007,124 by Kim, entitled “Self-generating streetlight”; U.S. Pat.No. 8,097,980 by Cyrus et al, entitled “Distributed solar power plantand a method of its connection to the existing power grid”; U.S. Pat.No. 8,106,593 by Nevins, entitled “Hybrid lighting device”; U.S. Pat.No. 8,215,807 by Brunesti, entitled “Illuminating flagpole assembly”;U.S. Pat. No. 8,246,207 by Chen et al, entitled “LED solar trafficmarking panel fitted with integrated dimming controller”; U.S. Pat. No.8,267,541 by Watanabe et al, entitled “Outdoor illuminating device andilluminating method”; U.S. Pat. No. 8,313,210 by Zheng, entitled“Solar-powered LED indicator lamp”; U.S. Pat. No. 8,342,706 by Zheng,entitled “LED lamp”; 2008/0137327 by Hodulik, entitled “Grid-tied solarstreetlighting”; 2013/0118555 by Samuels, entitled “Solar energycollectors and methods for capturing solar energy”; and 2013/0234605 byBurrows, entitled “Hybrid outdoor streetlamp assembly”.

In addition to the foregoing patents, Webster's New Universal UnabridgedDictionary, Second Edition copyright 1983, is incorporated herein byreference in entirety for the definitions of words and terms usedherein.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In a first manifestation, the invention is an electrical transmissionsystem having plural electrical supply sources distributed along one ormore load circuits carried by one or more transmission lines. A utilitypole suspends transmission lines. At least one solar electric generationstation supplies electrical energy and has at least three separate anddistinct solar collector surfaces, defined by at least one generallyEast facing panel, at least one generally South facing panel, and atleast one generally West facing panel. A plurality of spacer memberssupport the at least three separate and distinct solar collectorsurfaces in a fixed position relative to the utility pole and have aplurality of clamp passages. A plurality of clamps are adapted tooperatively pass through the plurality of clamp passages which areadapted to operatively guide and retain the plurality of clamps. A powercoupling conducts electricity generated by the at least one solarelectric generation station into the transmission lines.

In a second manifestation, the invention is an electrical transmissionsystem having plural electrical supply sources distributed along one ormore load circuits carried by one or more transmission lines. A utilitypole suspends transmission lines. At least one solar electric generationstation supplies electrical energy and has at least three separate anddistinct solar collector surfaces, defined by at least one generallyEast facing panel, at least one generally South facing panel, and atleast one generally West facing panel. A plurality of spacer memberssupport the at least three separate and distinct solar collectorsurfaces in a fixed position relative to the utility pole. A pluralityof adjustable brackets are adapted to operatively affix with theplurality of spacer members adjacent a first end and to the utility poleadjacent a second end distal to the first end. A power coupling conductselectricity generated by the at least one solar electric generationstation into the transmission lines.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention solve inadequacies of theprior art by providing solar panels and securing brackets that definesolar electric generation stations. These solar electric generationstations mount to existing utility poles to define an electricaltransmission system.

The present invention and the preferred and alternative embodiments havebeen developed with a number of objectives in mind. While not all ofthese objectives are found in every embodiment, these objectivesnevertheless provide a sense of the general intent and the many possiblebenefits that are available from embodiments of the present invention.

A first object of the invention is to provide a solar electricgeneration station that may be directly attached to most existingutility poles, thereby using the existing utility pole as the mainsupport and as immediate access to the electric power grid. A secondobject of the invention is to provide a solar electric generationstation that is easily installed upon the utility pole. Another objectof the present invention is to provide a solar electric generationstation that does not require a tracking mount, and yet which is capableof producing electricity throughout the daylight hours. A further objectof the invention is to reduce the capital outlay required for a solarelectric generation station and avoid the need for special permitting byusing existing utility poles as the main support. Yet another object ofthe present invention is to readily enable design variations to optimizesolar incidence upon the solar electric generation station at variouslatitudes.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing and other objects, advantages, and novel features of thepresent invention can be understood and appreciated by reference to thefollowing detailed description of the invention, taken in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a preferred embodiment electrical transmission systemdesigned in accord with the teachings of the present invention from afront elevational view.

FIG. 2 illustrates a preferred embodiment solar electric generationstation used in the preferred embodiment electrical transmission systemof FIG. 1, the present view of FIG. 2 taken along section line 2′ toreveal a top plan view of an installed preferred embodiment solarelectric generation station.

FIG. 3 illustrates a rear elevational view of the preferred embodimentsolar electric generation station of FIG. 2, but removed from theutility pole and with the screw-based clamps removed therefrom.

FIG. 4 illustrates a first alternative embodiment solar electricgeneration station used in the preferred embodiment electricaltransmission system of FIG. 1, the present view of FIG. 4 taken alongsection line 2′ to reveal a top plan view of an installed firstalternative embodiment solar electric generation station.

FIG. 5 illustrates a rear elevational view of the first alternativeembodiment solar electric generation station of FIG. 4, but removed fromthe utility pole.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Manifested in the preferred embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, thepresent invention provides an electrical transmission system 100 havingplural electrical supply sources distributed along one or more loadcircuits such as carried by transmission lines 114, 116. A typical priorart utility pole 110 may, for exemplary purposes only and not solelylimiting thereto be provided with a support arm 112 which suspendstransmission lines 114, 116 from utility pole 110 and may provideelectrical isolation.

The electrical supply sources are most preferably one or more solarelectric generation stations 120. Each solar electric generation station120 will preferably be provided with a Direct Current (DC) toAlternating Current (AC) inverter 122, which will preferably includevarious functions, such as the ability to synchronize with the powergrid and the ability to disconnect therefrom in the event of a powerfailure such as a downed transmission line or other electricaltransmission system 100 failure. These inverters are well known in thefield of solar electric generation and widely commercially available,and further discussed in the patents incorporated herein by reference.

While a DC to AC inverter 122 is preferred, it will be understood thatany suitable method of coupling electricity generated by solar electricgeneration station 120 into inverter output lines 124, 126 and fromthere to transmission lines 114, 116 will be understood to beincorporated herein. Consequently, inverter 122 might not perform andconversion from DC to AC, and may instead be a simple switch that allowssolar electric generation station 120 to be disconnected fromtransmission lines 114, 116 in the event a repair is required withinelectrical transmission system 100, to protect the safety of atechnician.

Preferred embodiment solar electric generation station 120 has threeseparate and distinct solar collector surfaces, defined by East facingpanel 132, South facing panel 134, and West facing panel 136. Thesepanels 132, 134, 136 may be curved, such as illustrated in FIG. 2, inwhich case they will either have photovoltaic cells deposited orotherwise formed thereon, or will have flexible photovoltaic panelsaffixed thereto. Alternatively, panels 132, 134, 136 may each be planar,and angularly offset from each other to face approximately East, Southand West, respectively. While three panels are illustrated for exemplarypurposes, it will be understood that more or fewer panels may be used,though three are illustrated.

By providing these three panels 132, 134, 136, solar electric generationstation 120 does not require a tracking mount, and is still capable ofproducing electricity throughout the daylight hours. Severalmanufacturers are able to produce solar cells that are of sufficientlylow cost that the benefit from a tracking mount in increased poweroutput throughout a daily cycle is not sufficient to justify the addedexpense and maintenance of the tracking components. Solar electricgeneration station 120 additionally is defined by a bottom 131, a top133, an exterior face 135, and an interior face 137. As may beappreciated, exterior face 135 will preferably have one or more solarcells either formed in place or mounted thereon. For exemplary purposesonly, and not solely limiting the invention thereto, exterior face 135may have a Copper Indium Gallium Selenide (CIGS) thin film material,which is easily deposited onto flexible substrates, wrapped or glued tothe exterior face or may in another extreme have many small fixed flatglass panels or panes containing mono-crystalline photovoltaic cellsangularly stepped about utility pole 110.

Preferred embodiment solar electric generation station 120 isillustrated in greater detail in FIGS. 2 and 3. Supporting the threepanels 132, 134, 136 in a fixed position relative to utility pole 110are a plurality of spacer members, such as spacer members 142, 144, 146,148. The number and location of these spacer members 142, 144, 146, 148is not critical to the present invention, and will be determined when anumber of design factors are taken into consideration. For exemplary andnon-limiting purposes, factors such as wind, ice and snow loading may beused to determine a maximum load that might be placed upon preferredembodiment solar electric generation station 120. Once the maximum loadis determined, then the type of material, the thickness and geometry,and other such design computations may be made. Preferably, a pluralityof screw-based clamp passages 152, 154, 156 are also provided whichserve to guide and retain a plurality of screw-based clamps 170 that mayfor exemplary purposes include a perforated strap 172, fixed screw mount174, and worm-drive screw 176. This type of screw-based clamp 170 iscommercially referred to as metal banding with worm gear type adjustmentscrews, and is commonly sold as hose and pipe clamp and for otherpurposes by such vendors as Vertex Distribution of Attleboro,Massachusetts, Signs Direct of Bloomington, Ill., and MOWCO IndustryLimited of Shenzen, China. While other types of clamps may be providedin association with preferred embodiment solar electric generationstation 120, including but not limited to other types of strap, band,and even webbing, screw-based clamp 170 provides very rapid, secure,intuitive, familiar, and low-cost coupling to utility pole 110, which ispreferred to decrease the cost of installation and maintenance.

For many installations, the clamping force generated by screw-basedclamp 170 will be sufficient to adequately support solar electricgeneration station 120. However, and particularly for coupling withwooden utility poles, one or more gripping teeth 162, 164, 166, 168 maybe provided that protrude from spacer members 142, 144, 146, 148. Thespecific geometry of these gripping teeth 162, 164, 166, 168 may bealtered to suit the characteristics most desired by a designer, such aspenetration depth, inter-tooth spacing, and so forth. Alternatively,gripping teeth 162, 164, 166, 168 may be an alternative material thatprovides increased adhesion to a particular surface, such as a rubber orsimilar elastomeric material having a relatively high co-efficient offriction. Such materials may be useful for coupling with a steel utilitypole.

As may be appreciated, preferred embodiment solar electric generationstation 120 will be designed to directly attached to most existingutility poles, thereby using the existing utility pole 110 as the mainsupport and as immediate access to the electric power grid. This in turnmeans that there is minimal mounting hardware required, no specialanchoring into the earth, and no special permitting required, since thepresent electrical transmission system 100 uses existing infrastructure.This in turn means that preferred embodiment electrical transmissionsystem 100 may be produced, installed, and maintained for substantiallyless capital than required for prior art systems.

The materials used to fabricate preferred embodiment solar electricgeneration station 120 are not critical to the present invention. Forexemplary purposes, a base material used to fabricate panels 132, 134,136 may be galvanized steel. In such case, the steel may be stamped orotherwise formed to shape, though again the particular method ofderiving the shape is not critical to the present invention. As alreadydiscussed herein above, photovoltaic cells may be formed upon or affixedto the exterior face 135.

FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate a first alternative embodiment solar electricgeneration station 220. In this embodiment, rather than usingscrew-based clamps, a set of adjustable mounting brackets 252, 254, 256,258 are used to terminate spacer members 242, 244, 246, 248. Theadjustable mounting brackets 252, 254, 256, 258 may, for exemplarypurposes only and not solely limiting thereto, comprise L-shapedbrackets that bolt, screw or otherwise affix to spacer members 242, 244,246, 248, and also bolt, screw or otherwise affix at a distal end toutility pole 110. This method of attachment is limited, since adjustablemounting brackets 252, 254, 256, 258 or adjacent to interior face 237and therefore hard to access. Nevertheless, adjustable mounting brackets252, 254, 256, 258 may be provided near to the top and bottom of solarelectric generation station 220, and in such case sufficient accessclearance will exist.

Alternative embodiments of apparatus designed in accord with the presentinvention have been illustrated in FIGS. 2-5. The embodiments aredistinguished by the hundreds digit, and various components within eachembodiment designated by the ones and tens digits. However, many of thecomponents are alike or similar between embodiments, so numbering of theones and tens digits have been maintained wherever possible, such thatidentical, like or similar functions may more readily be identifiedbetween the embodiments. If not otherwise expressed, those skilled inthe art will readily recognize the similarities and understand that inmany cases like numbered ones and tens digit components may besubstituted from one embodiment to another in accord with the presentteachings, except where such substitution would otherwise destroyoperation of the embodiment. Consequently, those skilled in the art willreadily determine the function and operation of many of the componentsillustrated herein without unnecessary additional description.

While the embodiments of FIGS. 2 and 4 each illustrate the spacingbetween utility pole 110 and exterior face 135, 235 as being equidistantat both bottom 131, 231 and top 133, 233, the present invention alsocontemplates changing the spacing to suit a particular application. Thepresent invention may be readily modified to optimize solar incidenceupon the solar electric generation station at various latitudes and forvarious times of day.

At sunrise and sunset, the solar rays are arriving in a nearlyhorizontal plane. In this case, the spacing between utility pole 110 andthe exterior face 135 adjacent to top 133 and East facing panel 132 maybe approximately equal to the spacing between utility pole 110 and theexterior face 135 adjacent to bottom 131 and East facing panel 132. Thismeans that East facing panel 132 is oriented in an approximatelyvertical plane, which may be appropriate for morning and evening solarexposure. Consequently, West facing panel 136 may also be oriented in anapproximately vertical plane. However, except at the most northernlatitudes, at midday the solar rays will be traveling at some anglegenerally between horizontal and vertical, such as at between 33 and 66degrees from horizontal. To better align South facing panel 134 with theapproximately midday sun, and thereby improve the collection of middaysolar radiation and solar electric generation, South facing panel 134may also be tilted from vertical. While not illustrated, it will beapparent that the spacing between utility pole 110 and the exterior face135 adjacent to top 133 and South facing panel 134 may be very differentfrom the spacing between utility pole 110 and the exterior face 135adjacent to bottom 131 and South facing panel 134. Similarly, if morethan three panels are used to define solar electric generation station120, the panels that are more south facing may also tilt more out of thevertical plane towards the horizontal plane than less south facingpanels.

While the foregoing details what is felt to be the preferred embodimentof the invention, no material limitations to the scope of the claimedinvention are intended. Further, features and design alternatives thatwould be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art are considered tobe incorporated herein. The scope of the invention is set forth andparticularly described in the claims herein below.

I claim:
 1. An electrical transmission system having plural electricalsupply sources distributed along at least one transmission line andproviding electrical power to at least one load circuit, comprising: autility pole suspending said at least one transmission line; at leastone solar electric generation station supplying electrical energypartially circumscribing said utility pole and having at least threeseparate and distinct solar collector surfaces, defined by at least onegenerally East facing panel, at least one generally South facing panel,and at least one generally West facing panel; a plurality of generallyplanar spacer members each of said generally planar spacer membersextending generally radially from said utility pole and together affixedwith and supporting said at least three separate and distinct solarcollector surfaces in a fixed position relative to said utility pole,each of said generally planar spacer members having a plurality of clamppassages; a plurality of clamps adapted to operatively pass through saidplurality of clamp passages which are adapted to operatively guide andretain said plurality of clamps; and a power coupling that conductselectricity generated by said at least one solar electric generationstation into said transmission lines.
 2. The electrical transmissionsystem of claim 1, wherein said plurality of clamps further comprises aplurality of screw-based clamps.
 3. The electrical transmission systemof claim 2, wherein individual ones of said plurality of screw-basedclamps further comprise a perforated strap; a fixed screw mount; and aworm-drive screw.
 4. The electrical transmission system of claim 1,wherein each individual one of said plurality of spacer members furthercomprise at least one gripping tooth that protrudes from said spacermember.
 5. The electrical transmission system of claim 4, wherein saidat least one gripping tooth further comprises a utility pole surfacepenetrating point.
 6. The electrical transmission system of claim 4,wherein said at least one gripping tooth further comprises a materialthat provides increased adhesion to said utility pole.
 7. The electricaltransmission system of claim 1, wherein said power coupling furthercomprises a Direct Current (DC) to Alternating Current (AC) inverter. 8.The electrical transmission system of claim 7, wherein said powercoupling further comprises a disconnect switch that allows said solarelectric generation station to be disconnected from said transmissionlines.
 9. The electrical transmission system of claim 1, wherein said atleast one solar electric generation station extends longitudinallyparallel to said utility pole.
 10. The electrical transmission system ofclaim 9, wherein said at least one solar electric generation station isconcentric about said utility pole.
 11. The electrical transmissionsystem of claim 10, wherein said at least one solar electric generationstation has a base material formed from a galvanized steel sheet, saidplurality of generally planar spacer members affixed to and extendingradially interior from said base material.
 12. The electricaltransmission system of claim 11, wherein said base materialcircumscribes an arc about said utility pole of greater than 180degrees.
 13. An electrical transmission system having plural electricalsupply sources distributed along at least one transmission line andproviding electrical power to at least one load circuit, comprising: autility pole suspending said at least one transmission line; at leastone solar electric generation station supplying electrical energypartially circumscribing said utility pole and defining a bottom, a top,an exterior face, and an interior face and having at least threeseparate and distinct solar collector surfaces affixed to said exteriorface, defined by at least one generally East facing panel, at least onegenerally South facing panel, and at least one generally West facingpanel; a plurality of generally planar spacer members, each of saidplurality of generally planar spacer members extending generallyradially from said utility pole and angularly offset from each other,said plurality of generally planar spacer members together affixed withand supporting said at least three separate and distinct solar collectorsurfaces in a fixed position relative to said utility pole, said Eastfacing panel oriented in an approximately vertical plane, and said Westfacing panel also be oriented in an approximately vertical plane, saidSouth facing panel tilted from vertical, each of said generally planarspacer members having a plurality of perforate clamp passages; aplurality of clamps adapted to operatively pass through said pluralityof perforate clamp passages which are adapted to operatively guide andretain said plurality of clamps; and a power coupling that conductselectricity generated by said at least one solar electric generationstation into said transmission lines.
 14. The electrical transmissionsystem of claim 13, wherein said at least three separate and distinctsolar collector surfaces further comprise more than three panels used todefine solar electric generation station, said panels that are moresouth facing also tilting more out of the vertical plane towards ahorizontal plane than less south facing panels.
 15. The electricaltransmission system of claim 13, wherein said at least one solarelectric generation station extends longitudinally generally parallel tosaid utility pole.
 16. The electrical transmission system of claim 15,wherein said at least one solar electric generation station isconcentric about said utility pole.
 17. The electrical transmissionsystem of claim 16, wherein said at least one solar electric generationstation has a base material formed from a galvanized steel sheet, saidplurality of generally planar spacer members affixed to and extendingradially interior from said base material.
 18. The electricaltransmission system of claim 17, wherein said base materialcircumscribes an arc about said utility pole of greater than 180degrees.